In a bit of a scandalous move, Google has announced that many (OK, almost all) of Slide's products--including many Facebook games and applications--will be shut down over the coming months. Google purchased Slide, the company behind Superpoke!, last August for $182 million, but now, they've dropped the hammer on the company.
The reasoning? It apparently all boils down to the fact that Max Levchin, the founder and CEO of Slide, has decided to leave Slide and Google altogether. If the reasoning goes deeper than that, we've yet to see that announced.
As reported by TechCrunch, most of Slide's specific employees will stay on at Google, but all of their products, save for one, will close. In terms of Facebook applications, this includes apps like SuperPoke! (one of the original truly popular social applications), SuperPoke! Pets (the company's pet care-taking sim) and SPP Ranch!, a game that had what I would argue are some of the cutest graphics in a social game to date.
When adding in Slide's other Facebook applications, we're left with a figure of around 460,000 monthly active users, according to AppData. But that arguably low number still doesn't make this news any less of a disappointment to those who remember just how popular SuperPoke! was back in the day. It also doesn't include the users that may not have used Facebook Connect to sign up for games like SPP Ranch! and SuperPoke! Pets that are now hosted outside of Facebook proper.
Outside of the Facebook game arena, this announcement also shutters the new photo-sharing iPhone application Photovine, which launched just last week. This leaves us to believe that there might be something more cryptic to the Slide closure than Max Levchin leaving, but that we'll probably never know for sure. With the closure of of Slide, we've certainly reached the end of an era, and I, for one, will be sad to see the adorable SuperPoke! sheep go.
Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn facebook games. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng
Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn facebook games. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng
Thứ Ba, 10 tháng 1, 2012
Facebook wants its games selection to match consoles' variety
And they're getting mighty close. During an interview with MCV, Facebook director of games partnerships Sean Ryan said, "There is a range of sophisticated games we want to get on our platform." He's referring to the fact that there is simply more of a variety of games on consoles when compared to Facebook. To him, Facebook doesn't have that wide selection because, as a games platform, it's only 3 and a half years old.
"We are a pure platform – we don't invest in games or make them," Ryan said to MCV. "But we ask ourselves how we can make games like a football manager title rise up and become a success." When asked about whether this would harm larger traditional game firms, he said to MCV that this is a chance to reach bigger audiences with high-end games. Um, does this mean we'll see Halo soon on the old Facebook?
"Our aim is to have more people playing on Facebook or via games on consoles using the Social Graph," Ryan said. "There is no question the hours spent on Facebook have to come from somewhere and that may mean eating into other traditional gaming areas." OK, so maybe not on Facebook ... but so close!
However, we've already seen full 3D graphics on Facebook in its early stages. It's also important to consider that we already have made game types that dominate the console space--shooters like N.O.V.A. and RPGs like King's Bounty--work on Facebook. These changes are already in motion.
Ryan and crew might have big ambitions for Facebook when it comes to games, but so does another massive web company. And based on Ryan's recent words in regards to Google+ Games, Facebook is ready to defend its position. Not to mention those recent changes--neat-o, huh?
"We are a pure platform – we don't invest in games or make them," Ryan said to MCV. "But we ask ourselves how we can make games like a football manager title rise up and become a success." When asked about whether this would harm larger traditional game firms, he said to MCV that this is a chance to reach bigger audiences with high-end games. Um, does this mean we'll see Halo soon on the old Facebook?
"Our aim is to have more people playing on Facebook or via games on consoles using the Social Graph," Ryan said. "There is no question the hours spent on Facebook have to come from somewhere and that may mean eating into other traditional gaming areas." OK, so maybe not on Facebook ... but so close!
However, we've already seen full 3D graphics on Facebook in its early stages. It's also important to consider that we already have made game types that dominate the console space--shooters like N.O.V.A. and RPGs like King's Bounty--work on Facebook. These changes are already in motion.
Ryan and crew might have big ambitions for Facebook when it comes to games, but so does another massive web company. And based on Ryan's recent words in regards to Google+ Games, Facebook is ready to defend its position. Not to mention those recent changes--neat-o, huh?
Thứ Hai, 9 tháng 1, 2012
Head into the virtual kitchen with Cooking Mama on Facebook
I'm about to have a bit of a fan girl fit here (forgive me), but one of my favorite Nintendo DS game series is now available to play on Facebook. Arkadium, Majesco, and Cooking Mama Ltd have all partnered to bring Cooking Mama to Facebook as an in-depth experience, rather than just a standard mini-game title.
Sure, there are plenty of mini-games here to participate in, but the game is more complex than your standard handheld game. You won't just be completing mini-games by cooking dishes for the sake of cooking dishes, as you'll have customers that will order certain food dishes, and you'll need to take care of their needs and desires.
Meet us behind the break for a look at how you can fulfill your customers' orders, and how this online version of the game differs from those you've seen on other platforms.
For the overall scheme of gameplay, you'll need to use ingredients to cook dishes. Cooking dishes is a mini-game situation, where you'll find yourself spreading butter onto toast (click on the button and click and drag to spread it on the bread), chopping cheese or vegetables (click on the dotted line), and more. You'll be scored at the end of each step, with some recipes requiring a number of steps to be completed, based on their complexity.
As our example with the Buttered Toast, this would only require one step, as the toast has already been cooked and all you have to do is spread the butter. For something like a Grilled Cheese Sandwich, however, you'll first need to chop slices off of a block of cheese, and then physically grill the sandwich by moving your mouse back and forth to move the sandwich around the frying pan, and then flipping the sandwich over (so it doesn't burn) by flicking your mouse upwards.
After each step, you'll be scored on your accuracy (whether or not you burned the sandwich, to continue with our above example), and you'll earn experience points at the end of the dish, based on your scores. Once you've cooked a dish through these mini-games, you'll be able to serve them in your make-shift restaurant. In this comes the timed element to the game. You'll be able to choose how long you'd like to serve a dish, based on how long you'd like to be away from the game. Since we're talking about food, there is a "real-world" element in terms of spoilage, which makes the longer time frames worth less money (in the grand scheme of things), as the food would be of a lesser quality by the time the serving time frame ended. That is, you'll earn more coins overall if you come back every half hour, rather than waiting a few hours, but of course, this isn't realistic for the working individual.
As you level up, you'll be able to add more and more dishes to your menu, to be served at once, resulting in more profits and experience points when you return after your shift is over. These profits can be used either to purchase more ingredients, allowing you to cook more dishes, or to purchase decorative items like more cabinets, bread baskets, hanging pans, etc. to your kitchen, which is viewed at the top of the screen.
There are also quests to complete in the game, like serving a particular dish for a specific amount of time, or even adding decorations to your kitchen. Completing quests earns you coins and experience points, with these coins being used to purchase the ingredients necessary to cook more dishes.
As if all of this didn't give you enough to work on, as you level up, you'll unlock new dishes, and you can then upgrade those dishes by cooking them subsequent times (using more ingredients to do so). Not only will you earn points overall for cooking dishes, but each dish itself has an experience point bar. Simply cook the dish repeatedly to fill the bar, and the dish will level up.
Unfortunately, you won't be able to cook dishes indefinitely, as there is an Energy bar that uses up energy when you cook. For the first few levels, this isn't really an issue, as you'll level up quick enough to refill your energy bar during one sitting. However, in later levels, it might impact your progress while you wait for the bar to refill.
Technically, this is one of the cutest, most polished games we've seen, taking its graphical theme straight from the Nintendo DS game that started it all - meaning that you'll see more bright or pastel colors and shiny stars and glitter animations in the game than you can shake a stick at. Not the most masculine of themes, to be fair, but the gameplay is a solid transition, from what we can tell from our hands-on time with the game.
If you've liked the Cooking Mama games released on the Nintendo DS or Wii in the past, and want to continue the cooking fun on Facebook, the game is now open to play for everyone.
Sure, there are plenty of mini-games here to participate in, but the game is more complex than your standard handheld game. You won't just be completing mini-games by cooking dishes for the sake of cooking dishes, as you'll have customers that will order certain food dishes, and you'll need to take care of their needs and desires.
Meet us behind the break for a look at how you can fulfill your customers' orders, and how this online version of the game differs from those you've seen on other platforms.
For the overall scheme of gameplay, you'll need to use ingredients to cook dishes. Cooking dishes is a mini-game situation, where you'll find yourself spreading butter onto toast (click on the button and click and drag to spread it on the bread), chopping cheese or vegetables (click on the dotted line), and more. You'll be scored at the end of each step, with some recipes requiring a number of steps to be completed, based on their complexity.
As our example with the Buttered Toast, this would only require one step, as the toast has already been cooked and all you have to do is spread the butter. For something like a Grilled Cheese Sandwich, however, you'll first need to chop slices off of a block of cheese, and then physically grill the sandwich by moving your mouse back and forth to move the sandwich around the frying pan, and then flipping the sandwich over (so it doesn't burn) by flicking your mouse upwards.
After each step, you'll be scored on your accuracy (whether or not you burned the sandwich, to continue with our above example), and you'll earn experience points at the end of the dish, based on your scores. Once you've cooked a dish through these mini-games, you'll be able to serve them in your make-shift restaurant. In this comes the timed element to the game. You'll be able to choose how long you'd like to serve a dish, based on how long you'd like to be away from the game. Since we're talking about food, there is a "real-world" element in terms of spoilage, which makes the longer time frames worth less money (in the grand scheme of things), as the food would be of a lesser quality by the time the serving time frame ended. That is, you'll earn more coins overall if you come back every half hour, rather than waiting a few hours, but of course, this isn't realistic for the working individual.
As you level up, you'll be able to add more and more dishes to your menu, to be served at once, resulting in more profits and experience points when you return after your shift is over. These profits can be used either to purchase more ingredients, allowing you to cook more dishes, or to purchase decorative items like more cabinets, bread baskets, hanging pans, etc. to your kitchen, which is viewed at the top of the screen.
There are also quests to complete in the game, like serving a particular dish for a specific amount of time, or even adding decorations to your kitchen. Completing quests earns you coins and experience points, with these coins being used to purchase the ingredients necessary to cook more dishes.
As if all of this didn't give you enough to work on, as you level up, you'll unlock new dishes, and you can then upgrade those dishes by cooking them subsequent times (using more ingredients to do so). Not only will you earn points overall for cooking dishes, but each dish itself has an experience point bar. Simply cook the dish repeatedly to fill the bar, and the dish will level up.
Unfortunately, you won't be able to cook dishes indefinitely, as there is an Energy bar that uses up energy when you cook. For the first few levels, this isn't really an issue, as you'll level up quick enough to refill your energy bar during one sitting. However, in later levels, it might impact your progress while you wait for the bar to refill.
Technically, this is one of the cutest, most polished games we've seen, taking its graphical theme straight from the Nintendo DS game that started it all - meaning that you'll see more bright or pastel colors and shiny stars and glitter animations in the game than you can shake a stick at. Not the most masculine of themes, to be fair, but the gameplay is a solid transition, from what we can tell from our hands-on time with the game.
If you've liked the Cooking Mama games released on the Nintendo DS or Wii in the past, and want to continue the cooking fun on Facebook, the game is now open to play for everyone.
Thứ Năm, 29 tháng 12, 2011
Gameloft rockets N.O.V.A. iOS shooter game onto Facebook
Remember our little chats about 3D gaming on Facebook? Well, this is what we were talking about. Gameloft has launched N.O.V.A., its popular iOS first-person shooter series, on Facebook. Titled N.O.V.A. Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance Elite, the game throws you into a galactic battle for the livelihood of Earth ... or something like that. The free-to-play social game expectantly runs on the Unity Engine, as do most 3D games on Facebook, and already has a virtual goods shop available. This marks Gameloft's, normally a mobile phone developer, third game on Facebook. And boy, is it a strong (looking) one.
"For over 10 years, Gameloft has established itself as the leading developer on all mass-market platforms for downloadable video games," Gameloft president Michel Guillemot said. "With this in mind, we've expanded our reach to include games for social networks. This also illustrates our resolve to be closer to our fans on all platforms of their choosing."
According to Digital Trends, the game is heavily inspired by Microsoft's Halo series, which is most definitely apparent. However, to say it's a rip-off would probably be selling it short entirely too early. Isn't it difficult enough for a sci-fi-themed shooter game to avoid the all-too-easy Halo comparison? We'll be the judge of whether N.O.V.A. dodges the Halo bullet in our preview, so stay tuned.
[Video Credit: Gameloft]
Are you psyched to try out this game on Facebook? Do you think N.O.V.A. will establish a traditional gameplay type well enough for it to stick (and where others have failed)?
"For over 10 years, Gameloft has established itself as the leading developer on all mass-market platforms for downloadable video games," Gameloft president Michel Guillemot said. "With this in mind, we've expanded our reach to include games for social networks. This also illustrates our resolve to be closer to our fans on all platforms of their choosing."
According to Digital Trends, the game is heavily inspired by Microsoft's Halo series, which is most definitely apparent. However, to say it's a rip-off would probably be selling it short entirely too early. Isn't it difficult enough for a sci-fi-themed shooter game to avoid the all-too-easy Halo comparison? We'll be the judge of whether N.O.V.A. dodges the Halo bullet in our preview, so stay tuned.
[Video Credit: Gameloft]
Are you psyched to try out this game on Facebook? Do you think N.O.V.A. will establish a traditional gameplay type well enough for it to stick (and where others have failed)?
Zynga, Lady Gaga wear the Poker Face in promotion deal talks
You can see it now, can't you? Zynga CEO Mark Pincus and Lady Gaga dance battling in his corner office over the final details of a promotion deal. The Wall Street Journal reports that both the FarmVille creator and the prosthetic-privy musician are in talks regarding a promotion deal for her upcoming album, Born This Way, on May 23.
The two Internet dynamos--for entirely different reasons--have collaborated before during Zynga's campaign to raise money for Japan after its horrific earthquake. Through Zynga, Gaga donated a cool $1.5 million, but now it's her turn (and Zynga's) to make some money ... lots of it.
Fast Company has created a list of possibilities for the promotional deal ranging from the completely logical and almost expected to the not-gonna'-happen. Our guess is Lady Gaga will become a character in one of Zynga's games, most likely FarmVille, CityVille or FrontierVille, like the recent Rango promotion in FrontierVille. Then again, Lady Gaga could come to Mafia Wars like Dr. Dre did and plop her music video on the home page. We're gonna' try and find out what this is all about--you sit tight and keep those guesses coming.
[Image Credit: Durian Boy]
What do you think Zynga has in store for Lady Gaga in its games? What would you like to see Gaga do with this partnership?
The two Internet dynamos--for entirely different reasons--have collaborated before during Zynga's campaign to raise money for Japan after its horrific earthquake. Through Zynga, Gaga donated a cool $1.5 million, but now it's her turn (and Zynga's) to make some money ... lots of it.
Fast Company has created a list of possibilities for the promotional deal ranging from the completely logical and almost expected to the not-gonna'-happen. Our guess is Lady Gaga will become a character in one of Zynga's games, most likely FarmVille, CityVille or FrontierVille, like the recent Rango promotion in FrontierVille. Then again, Lady Gaga could come to Mafia Wars like Dr. Dre did and plop her music video on the home page. We're gonna' try and find out what this is all about--you sit tight and keep those guesses coming.
[Image Credit: Durian Boy]
What do you think Zynga has in store for Lady Gaga in its games? What would you like to see Gaga do with this partnership?
N.O.V.A. Elite on Facebook: A standard-setting sci-fi shooter
NOVA combat
Every generation of gaming has one game that sets a standard for the rest of the industry for whatever reason. Pong for the Atari put the home console movement in, well, motion. Super Mario 64 defined what a 3D game should look and play like. More recently, Crysis--a sci-fi shooter released in 2007 that took some serious hardware to run well--set the standard for what PC games are capable of. N.O.V.A. Elite by Gameloft is Facebook's Crysis. Frankly, this is the most stunning social game to date, visually speaking. Of course, some praises are in order for the Unity 3D game engine itself, but it's Gameloft who took those tools and crafted a game that looks as if it could fit in on today's handheld systems. Then again, every beauty has a few blemishes.
Everything from the game's particle effects to lighting is a technological feat on Facebook. It's simply enthralling to launch a rocket into a squad of enemies, watch the plume of fire turn into one of smoke and move on to the next victim. These are things you simply cannot accomplish with standard Flash-based social games, and it's exactly why N.O.V.A. sets a standard for future Facebok games that decide to take this route.
Of course, gameplay happens in real time, randomized death matches of 12 players. For a first-person shooter, the gameplay is essentially standard fare: Run around the map looking for targets, shoot said targets until they die, reload, and repeat. If you've never played a first-person shooter before, this will all feel extremely alien. On the outset, you'll only have access to a few weapons and what you can scavenge while playing a match, but there are plenty of guns available for coins or Facebook Credits.
NOVA Home Screen
While many traditional social gamers were already off-put by strange words like "first-person shooter" and "Unity Engine," N.O.V.A. is a fine entry point into this burgeoning genre of social gaming. And it's all thanks to your friends. Despite being a real-time combat game, Gameloft has integrated the common social game tropes like gift giving. However, the developer has taken that one step further by allowing friends to join one another in matches. This isn't your usual visit to your friend's farm, but you and your buddy going head-to-head in an all-out skirmish.
Gallery: NOVA Elite
We've all been wondering when social games were going to become more social. Well, you're looking at it. At least for the moment. By allowing players to interact with one another in real time, N.O.V.A. has accomplished what only a few other games could: truly social gameplay. Unfortunately, making such a far leap to the opposite end of the social gaming spectrum has its drawbacks.
NOVA rocket launcher
Gameloft is asking quite a lot of its audience with N.O.V.A. First of all, the game states its own system requirements, something that will certainly scare away plenty of potential FarmVille converts. (Not to mention it's something I don't personally agree with.) Second, while a veteran of franchises like Halo and Call of Duty will pick the gameplay up from muscle memory alone, this game is terribly complex for the average social gamer. And third, it requires an external install (the Unity player) and up to 1 gigabyte of storage to keep game files on your system for quicker load times.
These are a few of the major reasons why casual gamers stay away from games like N.O.V.A. And while it's possible that Gameloft isn't even looking at those folks as a potential audience, it definitely should consider them. Especially when there are 300 million of them. Regardless of Gameloft's focus, N.O.V.A. is a step forward for social games in both visuals and social interaction.
Every generation of gaming has one game that sets a standard for the rest of the industry for whatever reason. Pong for the Atari put the home console movement in, well, motion. Super Mario 64 defined what a 3D game should look and play like. More recently, Crysis--a sci-fi shooter released in 2007 that took some serious hardware to run well--set the standard for what PC games are capable of. N.O.V.A. Elite by Gameloft is Facebook's Crysis. Frankly, this is the most stunning social game to date, visually speaking. Of course, some praises are in order for the Unity 3D game engine itself, but it's Gameloft who took those tools and crafted a game that looks as if it could fit in on today's handheld systems. Then again, every beauty has a few blemishes.
Everything from the game's particle effects to lighting is a technological feat on Facebook. It's simply enthralling to launch a rocket into a squad of enemies, watch the plume of fire turn into one of smoke and move on to the next victim. These are things you simply cannot accomplish with standard Flash-based social games, and it's exactly why N.O.V.A. sets a standard for future Facebok games that decide to take this route.
Of course, gameplay happens in real time, randomized death matches of 12 players. For a first-person shooter, the gameplay is essentially standard fare: Run around the map looking for targets, shoot said targets until they die, reload, and repeat. If you've never played a first-person shooter before, this will all feel extremely alien. On the outset, you'll only have access to a few weapons and what you can scavenge while playing a match, but there are plenty of guns available for coins or Facebook Credits.
NOVA Home Screen
While many traditional social gamers were already off-put by strange words like "first-person shooter" and "Unity Engine," N.O.V.A. is a fine entry point into this burgeoning genre of social gaming. And it's all thanks to your friends. Despite being a real-time combat game, Gameloft has integrated the common social game tropes like gift giving. However, the developer has taken that one step further by allowing friends to join one another in matches. This isn't your usual visit to your friend's farm, but you and your buddy going head-to-head in an all-out skirmish.
Gallery: NOVA Elite
We've all been wondering when social games were going to become more social. Well, you're looking at it. At least for the moment. By allowing players to interact with one another in real time, N.O.V.A. has accomplished what only a few other games could: truly social gameplay. Unfortunately, making such a far leap to the opposite end of the social gaming spectrum has its drawbacks.
NOVA rocket launcher
Gameloft is asking quite a lot of its audience with N.O.V.A. First of all, the game states its own system requirements, something that will certainly scare away plenty of potential FarmVille converts. (Not to mention it's something I don't personally agree with.) Second, while a veteran of franchises like Halo and Call of Duty will pick the gameplay up from muscle memory alone, this game is terribly complex for the average social gamer. And third, it requires an external install (the Unity player) and up to 1 gigabyte of storage to keep game files on your system for quicker load times.
These are a few of the major reasons why casual gamers stay away from games like N.O.V.A. And while it's possible that Gameloft isn't even looking at those folks as a potential audience, it definitely should consider them. Especially when there are 300 million of them. Regardless of Gameloft's focus, N.O.V.A. is a step forward for social games in both visuals and social interaction.
Thứ Năm, 22 tháng 12, 2011
Restaurant City: Gourmet Edition whips up screenshots, but no release date
At the beginning of July, EA and Playfish quietly announced the existence of a Restaurant City iPhone game, now called Restaurant City: Gourmet Edition. While we plan on having a Q&A with the developer closer to the game's launch (the date is still unknown to even us), we have been given some screenshots, and even a logo, to help tide us over. Ok, so these will probably only make us more excited, rather than calming us down, but there you have it.
This first shot seems to show that we won't lose much of the "design-a-restaurant" gameplay found on the Facebook version, with its transition to the smartphone (although it does look like we may only be able to have one theme at a time, rather than swapping out on the fly). Also, it doesn't look like we'll be able to expand to an outdoor grassy area, as this particular screenshot seems to have decorated one of the four corners of its indoors to look that way instead. However, the basics are here: there are stoves with individual chefs, drink stations and all of the tables and chairs we'd expect, along with bathroom facilities at the far right. So far so good.
What does look to be a bit different is the design of our ingredients and cooking screen. This particular screenshot shows off the ingredient trading feature, which will again allow us to trade ingredients with friends to more easily complete recipes. It's presumable that the entirety of the cooking menu (including the recipe select screen) would have just as streamlined an appearance, in order to make browsing simple on the smaller screen.
I wish we had more information as to what to expect with Restaurant City: Gourmet Edition, as I'm just as excited about trying out this new game as you are, but I suppose for now, we'll have to simply scan and re-scan these pictures for any new details we may have missed while waiting for more news to be announced. You can be sure we'll let you know when there is.
Are you excited for Restaurant City: Gourmet Edition on iPhone? Which item themes are you hoping Playfish brings into the mobile version of the game? Do you want an entirely new decorative theme for your new restaurant, or will you try to duplicate your Facebook restaurant?
This first shot seems to show that we won't lose much of the "design-a-restaurant" gameplay found on the Facebook version, with its transition to the smartphone (although it does look like we may only be able to have one theme at a time, rather than swapping out on the fly). Also, it doesn't look like we'll be able to expand to an outdoor grassy area, as this particular screenshot seems to have decorated one of the four corners of its indoors to look that way instead. However, the basics are here: there are stoves with individual chefs, drink stations and all of the tables and chairs we'd expect, along with bathroom facilities at the far right. So far so good.
What does look to be a bit different is the design of our ingredients and cooking screen. This particular screenshot shows off the ingredient trading feature, which will again allow us to trade ingredients with friends to more easily complete recipes. It's presumable that the entirety of the cooking menu (including the recipe select screen) would have just as streamlined an appearance, in order to make browsing simple on the smaller screen.
I wish we had more information as to what to expect with Restaurant City: Gourmet Edition, as I'm just as excited about trying out this new game as you are, but I suppose for now, we'll have to simply scan and re-scan these pictures for any new details we may have missed while waiting for more news to be announced. You can be sure we'll let you know when there is.
Are you excited for Restaurant City: Gourmet Edition on iPhone? Which item themes are you hoping Playfish brings into the mobile version of the game? Do you want an entirely new decorative theme for your new restaurant, or will you try to duplicate your Facebook restaurant?
Chủ Nhật, 11 tháng 12, 2011
Jurassic Park to (hopefully) bring Mr. DNA to mobile, Facebook in 2012
It's just not Jurassic Park without the little guy. Ludia, the Vancouver-based creator of branded Facebook and mobile games like Family Feud and Who Wants to be a Millionaire, has announced that it will bring a Jurassic Park social game to mobile devices in 2012. This deal with Universal Studios marks the company's move into the movie industry through branded games.
"This exciting license is our gateway to the movie industry and reinforces our strategy of turning high-profile brands into successful interactive entertainment experiences," Ludia CEO Alex Thabet said in a release, according to Inside Social Games. But it sounds as if the game will be far less about dinosaurs wreaking havoc than about keeping dinosaurs in check.
In other words, it's going to be another property management game. (Ugh.) Ludia will throw players onto the ill-fated island shortly after the events of the first movie, and they'll be able to help rebuild Jurassic Park into a thriving, money printing machine. What sounds most interesting is the ability to breed dinosaurs using new DNA strands discovered in pieces of amber. See? There's no way Ludia can leave out Mr. DNA now.
Of course, players will need to seek the help of their Facebook friends to keep dino-related disasters from happening and more tourists forking over the cash. The game has yet to receive an official title, and will release on mobile devices before hitting social networks like Facebook.
Are you excited to see Jurassic Park become a social game? What are your thoughts on branded mobile and social games?
"This exciting license is our gateway to the movie industry and reinforces our strategy of turning high-profile brands into successful interactive entertainment experiences," Ludia CEO Alex Thabet said in a release, according to Inside Social Games. But it sounds as if the game will be far less about dinosaurs wreaking havoc than about keeping dinosaurs in check.
In other words, it's going to be another property management game. (Ugh.) Ludia will throw players onto the ill-fated island shortly after the events of the first movie, and they'll be able to help rebuild Jurassic Park into a thriving, money printing machine. What sounds most interesting is the ability to breed dinosaurs using new DNA strands discovered in pieces of amber. See? There's no way Ludia can leave out Mr. DNA now.
Of course, players will need to seek the help of their Facebook friends to keep dino-related disasters from happening and more tourists forking over the cash. The game has yet to receive an official title, and will release on mobile devices before hitting social networks like Facebook.
Are you excited to see Jurassic Park become a social game? What are your thoughts on branded mobile and social games?
Ultima creator Richard Garriott runs social game studio with ... a robot?
At this point, with a guy who flew into space and once ran the craziest haunted house in the nation within his house, I guess you should expect these things. The Huffington Post reports that Richard Garriott, creator of the famed Ultima PC game series and co-founder of social game studio Portalarium, manages his Austin, Texas-based studio remotely ... with a robot. Seriously.
Since July of this year, Garriott has conversed with Portalarium's 25 employees in meetings and casually (the robot is a mobile, remote-controlled machine equipped with cameras and microphones) from his New York home. According to The Huffington Post, all he needs is a broadband connection, his laptop, a microphone and two cameras to make it work.
"When I'm up north, I log in in the morning and can meander over to anyone's desk and really be a part of the casual conversations that are so essential to our work," Garriott told The Huffington Post. "Sometimes I feel like a spy, but fundamentally it feels like I am really there." But the game industry veteran didn't buy the $15,000 Anybot QB solely for this job.
When Garriott married his wife earlier this year in the spring, he purchased the robot to ensure that his mother could participate in the ceremony and reception, which took place in Paris. The game designer strapped a cardboard cut-out of his elderly mother to the robot, gave her the controls from her Las Vegas home and it was as if she was there. Hey, at least we now know how dedicated Garriott is to Portalarium's upcoming crown jewel, Lord British's New Britannia (and his mum).
[Via Kotaku]
[Image Credit: Beef and Pie Productions]
What do you expect will come of Garriott's reportedly ambitious social game? Do you think the designer can strike gold here like he did back in the '80s and '90s on PCs?
Since July of this year, Garriott has conversed with Portalarium's 25 employees in meetings and casually (the robot is a mobile, remote-controlled machine equipped with cameras and microphones) from his New York home. According to The Huffington Post, all he needs is a broadband connection, his laptop, a microphone and two cameras to make it work.
"When I'm up north, I log in in the morning and can meander over to anyone's desk and really be a part of the casual conversations that are so essential to our work," Garriott told The Huffington Post. "Sometimes I feel like a spy, but fundamentally it feels like I am really there." But the game industry veteran didn't buy the $15,000 Anybot QB solely for this job.
When Garriott married his wife earlier this year in the spring, he purchased the robot to ensure that his mother could participate in the ceremony and reception, which took place in Paris. The game designer strapped a cardboard cut-out of his elderly mother to the robot, gave her the controls from her Las Vegas home and it was as if she was there. Hey, at least we now know how dedicated Garriott is to Portalarium's upcoming crown jewel, Lord British's New Britannia (and his mum).
[Via Kotaku]
[Image Credit: Beef and Pie Productions]
What do you expect will come of Garriott's reportedly ambitious social game? Do you think the designer can strike gold here like he did back in the '80s and '90s on PCs?
Thứ Sáu, 9 tháng 12, 2011
Producer on anticipated PS3 game ditches Sony for Facebook games
One the most anticipated PS3 games of 2012, The Last Guardian (pictured), just lost its executive producer to Facebook games. And in other news, the sky is falling. Jokes aside, former Sony Computer Entertainment president and executive producer on The Last Guardian Yoshifusa Hayama has left Sony for UK-based social games studio Bossa Studios, Eurogamer reports.
Hayama, who previously worked on the popular Final Fantasy series and cult classic Ico, will serve as creative director at Monstermind creator Bossa and work to bring the studio's first 3D Facebook game to life. The game is set to launch this year, according to Eurogamer, which we imagine means within the next 365 days. Hayama sounds exceedingly confident (refreshingly so even) in 3D Facebook games.
"The future of gaming is definitely online and thanks to recent developments with Flash 11, there is no reason why a social game can no longer be as visually stunning and as compelling as the big console titles," Hayama told Eurogamer. "Together at Bossa we have plans to bring a plethora of games to Facebook and eventually other appropriate social media channels, which include 3D elements and can be enjoyed by all age and interest groups."
Not only does this news follow the unfortunate reports of Ico creator Fumito Ueda had left Sony, but the increasing rate at which big time Japanese game creators are hopping on the social games bandwagon. This year alone saw the folks behind Mega Man, Sonic the Hedgehog and games like No More Heroes break onto the scene. At least where "compelling" social games are concerned, let's hope they're all onto something.
[Via Gamasutra]
Why are more and more Japanese game makers entering the social games space? Are you waiting for more "compelling" 3D social games?
Hayama, who previously worked on the popular Final Fantasy series and cult classic Ico, will serve as creative director at Monstermind creator Bossa and work to bring the studio's first 3D Facebook game to life. The game is set to launch this year, according to Eurogamer, which we imagine means within the next 365 days. Hayama sounds exceedingly confident (refreshingly so even) in 3D Facebook games.
"The future of gaming is definitely online and thanks to recent developments with Flash 11, there is no reason why a social game can no longer be as visually stunning and as compelling as the big console titles," Hayama told Eurogamer. "Together at Bossa we have plans to bring a plethora of games to Facebook and eventually other appropriate social media channels, which include 3D elements and can be enjoyed by all age and interest groups."
Not only does this news follow the unfortunate reports of Ico creator Fumito Ueda had left Sony, but the increasing rate at which big time Japanese game creators are hopping on the social games bandwagon. This year alone saw the folks behind Mega Man, Sonic the Hedgehog and games like No More Heroes break onto the scene. At least where "compelling" social games are concerned, let's hope they're all onto something.
[Via Gamasutra]
Why are more and more Japanese game makers entering the social games space? Are you waiting for more "compelling" 3D social games?
Thứ Bảy, 1 tháng 10, 2011
Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of Neverwinter goes live on Facebook
Released previously only in a private beta, Dungeons & Dragons Heroes of Neverwinter has now officially gone live on Facebook. Developed by Atari and set in the Neverwinter realm, the game already has 166,000 monthly players from its time in beta, but if you'd like to join them, here's a taste of what you can expect.
When first starting Heroes of Neverwinter, you'll be allowed to create a character using either set templates of a Fighter, Wizard, Cleric or Rogue (each with their own stats and specialties), or can create a custom character to customize your gender, stats, class, race and more. In this, the game can immediately start out being as complex or as straightforward as you like.
Upon launching into the game proper, you're met with a story of amnesia and will be introduced to Edrick, a scout that was guiding you on your way to Neverwinter before a pack of Goblins knocked you unconscious. Through this introduction, you're told of Neverwinter, a place of hope and civilization that has survived the Ruining, and that you had originally wanted to travel there to purchase a home and earn your fortune. With this as a base, you're sent on your way.
Movement is achieved on a grid, with this turn-based game automatically allowing you to move at the beginning of each turn. When commanding a party, you'll be able to complete multiple actions, including attacking or opening your inventory with each character before needing to manually end their turn and start over with the next character. Once each "adventure" in the game is complete, you'll receive experience points for the battles you won and the tasks you completed in the process. For immediate prizes, you'll sometimes be able to loot your fallen enemies, selecting a prize from a list of ten. You can choose randomly from ten cards, or can use a potion to reveal items before you choose.
In terms of actual combat, you'll have a wide variety of options, depending on the classes of characters in your party. You might be able to attack an enemy from far away, eliminating them before they ever become a threat, or surround an enemy with multiple characters, giving everyone a combat advantage. There's enough strategy here to keep more hardcore players satisfied, but the initial sections of gameplay are incredibly simple and work well to help an unfamiliar player get up to speed.
Gallery: Dungeons & Dragons Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook
Back in Neverwinter proper, you can access a variety of buildings including the Adventure Board where you'll accept new Adventures (Adventures require energy and have multiple difficulty levels), the Tavern where you can purchase energy potions or Adventure boosts to your stats, the Trade house where you'll purchase similar potions or new equipment items, and even your own home, which you'll be able to fill with treasures as you complete different achievements or tasks within the game (collecting a certain amount of gold, for instance).
That being said, the main focus here (understandably) is in the Adventures themselves. There are plenty of them to undertake, each with an additional focus on bringing your friends in to help you (early on, it's entirely possible to fail even the most basic of Adventures by simply going it alone). The lore within the game is presented through text boxes at the beginning and end of most scenes and encounters, and will likely satisfy current D&D fans. Still, this isn't the first game of its kind of Facebook, so hopefully the D&D name alone will help draw more followers into the fray.
Will D&D Heroes of Neverwinter win over the "Zynga" crowd with its fairly in-depth, and somewhat slow-going gameplay? Likely not, but there's plenty of content here for fans who go out specifically in search for it.
Play Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook -->
Have you tried Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook? What did you think of it? Sound off in the comments.
When first starting Heroes of Neverwinter, you'll be allowed to create a character using either set templates of a Fighter, Wizard, Cleric or Rogue (each with their own stats and specialties), or can create a custom character to customize your gender, stats, class, race and more. In this, the game can immediately start out being as complex or as straightforward as you like.
Upon launching into the game proper, you're met with a story of amnesia and will be introduced to Edrick, a scout that was guiding you on your way to Neverwinter before a pack of Goblins knocked you unconscious. Through this introduction, you're told of Neverwinter, a place of hope and civilization that has survived the Ruining, and that you had originally wanted to travel there to purchase a home and earn your fortune. With this as a base, you're sent on your way.
Movement is achieved on a grid, with this turn-based game automatically allowing you to move at the beginning of each turn. When commanding a party, you'll be able to complete multiple actions, including attacking or opening your inventory with each character before needing to manually end their turn and start over with the next character. Once each "adventure" in the game is complete, you'll receive experience points for the battles you won and the tasks you completed in the process. For immediate prizes, you'll sometimes be able to loot your fallen enemies, selecting a prize from a list of ten. You can choose randomly from ten cards, or can use a potion to reveal items before you choose.
In terms of actual combat, you'll have a wide variety of options, depending on the classes of characters in your party. You might be able to attack an enemy from far away, eliminating them before they ever become a threat, or surround an enemy with multiple characters, giving everyone a combat advantage. There's enough strategy here to keep more hardcore players satisfied, but the initial sections of gameplay are incredibly simple and work well to help an unfamiliar player get up to speed.
Gallery: Dungeons & Dragons Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook
Back in Neverwinter proper, you can access a variety of buildings including the Adventure Board where you'll accept new Adventures (Adventures require energy and have multiple difficulty levels), the Tavern where you can purchase energy potions or Adventure boosts to your stats, the Trade house where you'll purchase similar potions or new equipment items, and even your own home, which you'll be able to fill with treasures as you complete different achievements or tasks within the game (collecting a certain amount of gold, for instance).
That being said, the main focus here (understandably) is in the Adventures themselves. There are plenty of them to undertake, each with an additional focus on bringing your friends in to help you (early on, it's entirely possible to fail even the most basic of Adventures by simply going it alone). The lore within the game is presented through text boxes at the beginning and end of most scenes and encounters, and will likely satisfy current D&D fans. Still, this isn't the first game of its kind of Facebook, so hopefully the D&D name alone will help draw more followers into the fray.
Will D&D Heroes of Neverwinter win over the "Zynga" crowd with its fairly in-depth, and somewhat slow-going gameplay? Likely not, but there's plenty of content here for fans who go out specifically in search for it.
Play Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook -->
Have you tried Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook? What did you think of it? Sound off in the comments.
Thứ Hai, 19 tháng 9, 2011
Other Games Add Comment Sims Social survey lets you sound off on item prices, favorite features and more
It's that time folks - time to let your collective voices be heard! EA wants to know how much fun (or not) you're having with the Sims Social on Facebook, and they've released a fairly long survey to help you tell them. This survey contains all sorts of questions, ranging from the basics of how often you play the game, to allowing you to rate your opinion on item pricing (are they too cheap? too expensive?) and what some of your favorite features are in the game.
Of course, the point of all of this is to gather enough opinions to actually sway the way the game develops in the future. Hopefully, with questions dealing with how much we like to "build" items with parts (bookcases, double beds, etc.), and the option to say that you don't like it at all, we may actually see a lessening in those kinds of items, if enough users agree. You can even rank various gameplay features (decorating your house, visiting friends, customizing your Sim, etc.) in the order that you like them. In this way, perhaps we'll see more focus being placed on the most (overall) liked feature, and you'll be able to say you helped to make that happen.
Unfortunately, this isn't the kind of survey that will allow you to give your opinion on future item sets, but there are plenty of blank text boxes for you to say exactly what you want to the developers in a place that you know they'll see it. Again, this survey is prety lengthy (when compared to other Facebook game surveys anyway), so you'll want to make sure you have around 5-10 minutes to set aside to take it.
We've taken this survey as well, and if we start to notice any gameplay changes arising because of options listed here, we'll make sure to let you know. In the meantime, head over to this link right here to take the survey for yourself.
Of course, the point of all of this is to gather enough opinions to actually sway the way the game develops in the future. Hopefully, with questions dealing with how much we like to "build" items with parts (bookcases, double beds, etc.), and the option to say that you don't like it at all, we may actually see a lessening in those kinds of items, if enough users agree. You can even rank various gameplay features (decorating your house, visiting friends, customizing your Sim, etc.) in the order that you like them. In this way, perhaps we'll see more focus being placed on the most (overall) liked feature, and you'll be able to say you helped to make that happen.
Unfortunately, this isn't the kind of survey that will allow you to give your opinion on future item sets, but there are plenty of blank text boxes for you to say exactly what you want to the developers in a place that you know they'll see it. Again, this survey is prety lengthy (when compared to other Facebook game surveys anyway), so you'll want to make sure you have around 5-10 minutes to set aside to take it.
We've taken this survey as well, and if we start to notice any gameplay changes arising because of options listed here, we'll make sure to let you know. In the meantime, head over to this link right here to take the survey for yourself.
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